Herding Cats
by Kanon-Chan
Summary: In the Irish rain, two were destined to cross.  One a liberator from the North, another a lonely girl from Dublin.  Will the two opposites be able to see through each other? One Shot, KenxKaoru


Herding Cats

author's note: Always wanted to write a one shot with Ken x Kaoru pairing. :D It's in Ireland. It's completely AU and totally fun. Please, give me a review, too. 3 You guys will love it! It's set to the song "Titanic Set" by Gaelic Storm. I'll upload it for you guys.

It was cold.

It was dreary.

The rain poured down, hitting Kaoru's outstretched hand. She slowly brought her hand to her chest, retreating from the cold and unforgiving rain. She sighed, a gentle sigh, and lifted her head to stare out from underneath the shelter of the overhang of the pub.

The streets were dark, with the occasional light passing by as someone scurried through the rain trying to seek out shelter. She watched as one hurried by, a bobbing light that broke through the darkness. Kaoru's dark eyes traced the path of the light, watching it vanish around the corner.

' It's cold,' She thought , tightening her cloak around her. ' It's cold and I'm hungry.' Her eyes wandered to the door to her left. It was the old pub that her father had frequented when she was younger. It was called Cabhsanta [1 and was a shady little place where music was played and friends were made.

Kaoru was leaning against the dirty wall of the pub, the door to her left, and an opening to her right that lead down the road over towards the Half Penny Bridge [2. Shrugging, she opted for her left choice and pushed her way into the pub. It was slightly crowded -- everyone was trying to escape the rain that came with each Irish Spring.

Shoving her way through two rather large Irishmen, she managed to find an available table in the back corner. She quickly claimed it as her own -- seating herself and automatically raising her hand for an order. The tradition at Cabhsanta was to drink, make merry to Irish jigs, and enjoy the story telling. Kaoru only made it to the first one -- alcohol and she did not mix well.

' It's been raining for three days, ' She thought as she spread her hands out and cracked her knuckles. ' Three long, miserable, days. No one has been back to visit and no one has even bothered ringing.' Kaoru rolled her eyes -- of course no one would come to visit her. Since her father died, everyone thought she had gone insane out of grief and lurked in the shadows at night.

'Well, maybe not lurking,' She said to herself, nodding as a bar-girl brought her the beer in the traditional tanker that the Irish were quite proud of. The bar-girl hurried off, looking relieved to get away from Kaoru. Swinging a mouthful, she swallowed, nearly choking on the drink. The beer was a bit more bitter than it normally was.

Kaoru shoved it away from her, getting the offensive alcohol away from her. Her stomach churned -- almost protesting the bitterness of the drink. She tried to rub it, quelling the rumbling and gurgling, but it seemed to protest even louder.

"Is this seat taken?" A calm, almost soothing voice questioned. Although the voice was quiet, Kaoru could hear it clearly over the hustle of the pub. Her dark eyes looked up and she realised that a red-haired man was standing over the other empty seat at her table.

"Er... no," She replied slowly, wary of this man. Kaoru had never seen him before, and wasn't too sure of how aware he was of her reputation. She reached over and pulled her beer back towards her, cradling it in her hands and swishing the liquid back and forth in the tanker.

The red-haired man sat down and shed his cloak. He was dressed in the same manner she was -- not shabbily but you could tell he wasn't the richest man on the Isle. His violet eyes caught her raven ones and she quickly averted her gaze. Closing her eyes, she took a delicate sip of her beer, and swallowed it thoughtfully.

"I haven't seen you in this part of Dublin," She remarked quietly. " Are you from the North[3" The red-haired man looked caught off guard as she nailed her guess correctly. Was it that obvious he was from the north?

"Your accent gave it away," Kaoru pointed out.

"I'm from Belfast [4, yes," He replied slowly. " I mean... er.. I was born there. Mostly, I wander around Ireland." Kaoru's eyebrow shot up at his haughty explanation. " I'm Kenshin--" He extended his hand over the beaten and worn wooden table "-- Nice to meet you."

Kaoru took his hand and shook it. She noted his grip -- firm but not overpowering. "I'm Kaoru... native Dubliner. Pleased to meet you, too," She said. Kaoru watched him lean back in his chair and he studied her. Feeling slightly flustered under his gaze, she quickly took another swig of beer.

" Say... " She started but shut her mouth.

Kenshin broke his intensive study of her and nodded, " Yes? You have a question?" Kaoru fiddled with the handle of her tanker, trying to gather her thoughts to make them less probing.

"Why have you come to Dublin? Isn't Belfast shut off from the rest of the Island?" She questioned, her words rushed and slurred. Not because of the alcohol, but because she was quite nervous about talking to someone from up North. Northerns very rarely wandered into Dublin and if they were, they were usually treated like dogs because of their forced religious belief [5.

" I mentioned I was a wanderer," Kenshin said as his violet eyes took on a sharp gleam to them. " I'm wandering, but I'm also running... trying to get a clean slate before I do anymore damage that can't be reversed." As Kaoru's eyes widened, his closed. "Belfast was too dangerous a place for me to belong in."

Kaoru pushed herself back from the table, rising slowly to her feet. She heard of what happened in Belfast -- the terrorist acts against the government and the attempt to unite the country under one name. But the chances of her talking to one of the possible terrorists? It wasn't that high, right?

"Excuse me," She murmured as she almost stumbled away from the table -- away from Kenshin. He sighed, knowing he had exposed his major weakness. However, he somehow couldn't resist the conversation. There was something about the girl that struck a chord -- he felt like he could tell her anything.

His eyes trailed to her now unoccupied seat and he noticed she had left her cloak on the back of her chair. Reaching over the table, minding her half full tanker, he ran his fingers through the soft material. It smelled of her -- a calming soothing smell that seemed to smooth over his frayed nerves. Grasping the cloak, he folded it neatly and tucked it under his arm.

He knew she had left the pub -- the slamming of the door was enough proof. No one would dare go back out into the rain and get soaked. Pulling his hood over his red hair, his major give away, Kenshin exited the pub and took the right towards the Half Penny Bridge.

Her long raven hair was soaked as it formed a big wet blanket over her shoulders. Kaoru was standing at the midpoint of the bridge, right over the river that rushed below. It was unusually high, the river, and it was threatening to rise even higher if the rain continued.

She reached for her cloak, and when she grasped thin air, she groaned. In her rush to put distance between her and the stranger, she had left her cloak hanging on the back of her chair in the pub. Kaoru sighed, more out of annoyance of her stupidity, and mentally slapped herself in the forehead.

' Stupid stupid stupid, ' She called herself in her mind. The sound of footsteps broke her musing and degrading of herself. A cloaked figure was crossing the bridge -- his boots echoing with each footstep.

Slowly backing away from the railing, Kaoru was pretty sure she knew who the figure was and who was hiding underneath the cloak. She would flee if needed, but for some reason, she felt that this man wasn't as dangerous as his actions claimed him to be.

"Miss. Kaoru," He said in that soft voice of his again. She gulped, watching his hand fish into his cloak and he pulled out hers. Slowly, he walked towards her, each step carefully made. He threw the cloak over her shoulders and Kaoru blushed when he cupped his hand and caught her chin.

"You have nothing to fear from me," He whispered softly.

" Or I have everything to fear from you, " She replied in a similar hushed tone. His eyes darkened for a moment but then lightened again. Kaoru was fascinated with his eye color -- she had never seen it before.

Reaching up and catching his hand, she brought it down and gave it a shake. "Thank you, er... for returning my cloak," She said in a hesitant voice.

" It was not a problem," He answered. " Why were you in such a hurry, may I question?" Kenshin was aware of the answer, but he wanted confirmation. If people feared him this much, the rushing water could sweep his soul away to the bowels of hell where he could atone for his crimes to set the country free.

" Just..." She trailed off and started to laugh. Kenshin looked slightly confused, if not bewildered. " We're standing out here in the rain," She stated. Carefully taking his hand, she tugged him along towards the end of the bridge.

"It's just that it's a bit shocking, talking to someone who's a supposed terrorist," She confessed. Kenshin nodded slowly, understanding her point. " However, there's something about you... Kenshin... that's different from the others. " Her cheeks were slightly flushed, he noted.

"You're a lot less harsh," She continued. "I felt it when you shook my hand -- you know how to assert power correctly but you don't go throwing your weight around." Her head was slightly bowed, sheeted by the rain. " My father taught me that. Protect those who need to be protected... and help those that need help."

" Your father was wise," Kenshin commented slowly.

"He was," She agreed. "Unfortunately, he's no longer around to spread his wisdom.. if it can be called that." Kaoru swiped at her eyes with the back of her free hand. " They were some of the best teachings anyone had to offer," She choked out at she felt the tears well up even more. " But in the end, he was cut down -- cut down from what he believed in."

Kenshin remained silent, letting himself still be tugged along by the sobbing female. She was an interesting one, alright -- one moment she was completely strong, the next she was tearing in the eyes. He stopped -- slowly tugging her back towards him. Kaoru, caught completely by surprise, fell right into his warm embrace.

" Despite that," He finally spoke, " You're still alive to carry on his message, are you not?" His voice was neutral but Kaoru saw the understanding in his eyes -- saw the sympathy that threatened to spill over. His arms tightened around her.

"I-I..." She stammered over her words. " Maybe so..." She finally managed to say. " But it's n-not easy to l-live a legacy." Her face was buried in his soaking cloak but she felt the warmth radiating from him. It wrapped itself around her, gently holding her, and comforting her.

"If there was but one legacy," He whispered, his voice slightly raspy. " I would wish to re-live my life as a quiet man from Cork [6 who would be living a simple life." He bowed his head, supported by Kaoru's head underneath his.

"If you want a new start," She started and hesitated. " You can come with me... live a new life in Dublin. I don't have much to offer, but it's quiet and it's a wonderful city to live in."

With a gentle nod of his head, he released her and took her hand in his. A silent agreement had been made and a new promise had been said without any words.

And the Irish rain fell down upon the two -- cleansing their souls.

[1 cabhsanta Gaelic for "cozy".

[2 Half Penny Bridge is a bridge in Dublin Ireland. You'd have to pay half a penny to get across, but these days, it's free. :)

[3 Northern Ireland (owned by the UK) is separate from the country of Ireland.

[4 Belfast is the capital of N. Ireland and is known for having terrorist attacks against the British in the case of wanting liberation.

[5 The main religion of the N. Irish is Protestant and Irish are Catholics. This is a huge difference between the two countries.

[6 Cork is a county in Ireland.

Disclaimer: I don't own RoRoKen. If I did... '-'


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